Philosophy (Witt) and Communications (Lillie)

In Plato’s dialogue Phaedo, Socretes tries to explain to his friends the concept behind death. In his assertion he claims that just as things that are big come from things that are small, things that are alive come from things that are dead. I found this part of the passage to be interesting because I had never thought about life and death in that manner.

Thinking that life can come from death in is an interesting way to view the world. While I do not agree with the conclusion that he makes I still understand the concept behind Socretes’ assertion. If life came from death and death came from life then that would mean that everyone’s soul came from a preexistent life. This would mean that the knowledge that you had in one life could transfer over into the next life once you are reminded of what you once knew. This theory ties in to Plato’s theory of recollection. In fact I believe that Plato’s theory of recollection was based solely off of the assertion about life and death that Aristotle makes with in the dialogue Phaedo.

Socretes’ claim within Phaedo is one that takes philosophical belief to an entirely different level. I believe that the assertion about life and death will be an ideal that will cause philosophers to contemplate, reflect, and recollect for years to come.